Vestra management reshuffle pays off with £1bn inflow

Vestra Wealth attracted £1 billion of assets last year as David Scott took a more strategic role and new managing partner Ben Snee (pictured) made his mark.

In a management reshuffle, founding partner Scott handed his responsibilities to Snee last year in order to focus on the firm’s strategic direction and find new growth opportunities, which he said ‘is the bit that I like’.

Vestra’s latest results indicate the transition has been a smooth one. The company’s latest results, posted on Companies House, revealed inflows of £0.95 billion in 2013, taking total assets under management (AUM) to £4 billion.

This was a near one-third rise on the £3 billion AUM it ran at the end of 2012.

‘We have big plans for future growth,’ Snee told Wealth Manager. ‘We’re hoping to increase our AUM by 25% by the end of the financial year, in May 2015.’

Growth is expected to come from a focus on ultra-high net worth clients, intermediaries and its US division, which provides a range of wealth management services to clients with ties to America.

Snee says the group’s private office proposition is a particular focus. It is headed by Scott and aimed at ultra-high net worth individuals in the £5 million to £10 million range.

‘We are increasing the resources allocated to this segment of our client base, because we feel banks don’t always understand those people, and family offices have to deal with their own issues,’ Snee said.

Vestra US, which is headed by Paul Nixon, has delivered solid growth attracting around £100 million of business since opening in May last year.

‘Not a lot of UK wealth managers have this exposure, and it has been very beneficial to us,’ Snee said.

Closer to home, he is hoping to capitalise on opportunities coming from financial advisers through platforms. Around 20% of the wealth manager’s business comes from this channel.

Snee added that Vestra is planning to roll out its new IT system this year, which he believes will help to drive efficiencies across the business.

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